The Environment Ranks Highest as an ESG Priority for those Surveyed in Europe

New research from Intelex of EHS and ESG professionals in Europe finds that more than half of organizations surveyed are prioritizing environmentally focused ESG activities ahead of other ESG-related considerations.
New research from Intelex of EHS and ESG professionals in Europe finds that more than half of organizations surveyed are prioritizing environmentally focused ESG activities ahead of other ESG-related considerations.

Doing good for the planet is emerging as the primary area of environment, social and corporate governance (ESG) focus for those tasked to manage the progress of ESG initiatives in their organizations, according to recent research conducted across Europe by Intelex.

The environmental aspect of ESG consumes more attention than either of social or governance elements, according to a 2022 survey of more than 700 environmental health and safety (EHS) and ESG professionals from 10 European countries, including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

The third section of the report, Engaging Workers Growing Business and Protecting the Planet, reveals more than half of organizations surveyed are prioritizing environmentally … Read more...

Lessons from the U.S. Army Climate Change Strategy

As the threat of climate change becomes a reality, the world will become a more dangerous place. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Army has released its first climate change strategy.
As the threat of climate change becomes a reality, the world will become a more dangerous place. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Army has released its first climate change strategy.

One doesn’t usually think of the military as being concerned primarily with sustainability. However, the U.S. Army is proving that climate change preparation is necessary for every organization by releasing its first ever Climate Strategy. The strategy emphasizes making the Army more adaptive and resilient to a changing world while decarbonizing its operations in line with the government’s overall approach to meeting climate reduction targets.

This approach will be an important component of a strategy designed to increase the Army’s self-sufficiency and maintain its operational superiority in the face of climate-related disruption. The U.S. Army generates more pollution than 140 of the countries in the world, which means its sustainability efforts will make a significant contribution to international … Read more...

How the War in Ukraine Is Impacting ESG and Supply Chain

Business resiliency and crisis management are more critical than ever, and supply chains that can adapt quickly to global disruption by developing diverse supplier relationships should become the norm and not the exception.

Russian’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 marked a radical shift in global geopolitics. Almost two years after the COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global disruption, the rapid changes across Eastern Europe has further demonstrated that the world as it existed in 2019 is over.

As Blackrock’s Larry Fink has pointed out, the era of globalization that we’ve come to consider the natural order of things over the last 30 years is over. Only time will tell what the implications of these events will be. In the meantime, organizations will have to come to terms with new ways of working in a world in which cataclysmic disruptions can happen in a day and change the global landscape … Read more...

External Materiality and ESG: What You Should Be Looking For

Material risk management, or materiality, is a concept that is growing in importance as companies try to determine the material threats to their business.

As a business leader thinking about operational risk, do you consider internal risks first? For example, when considering operational risk, are regulatory compliance, talent retention or catastrophic asset failures resulting in production shutdowns top of mind? When you consider external risks, do you land on those that are most obvious, such as shifts in regulatory burdens, currency fluctuations, competitive threats, etc.…? (The list goes on and on.)

Like most leaders, you probably pay attention to ongoing issues, while staying as up to date as possible about evolving challenges and threats to the business so you aren’t caught off guard.

The problem with this approach is that it leaves an organization in an inherently vulnerable position. It’s hard to truly stay up to date. External risks are … Read more...

5 ESG Policy Trends Changing Business: Now What?

For business leaders, ESG data informs all decision-making processes – capital allocation, budget setting, cash flows and forecasts.
For business leaders, ESG data informs all decision-making processes – capital allocation, budget setting, cash flows and forecasts.

Until today, Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) has been defined mostly by voluntary practices, as the key policymakers (market authorities as well as national and international regulators) adopted a “sit and stare” approach and let the markets decide how to deal with ESG. 

The tide has turned, with jurisdictions now racing to introduce strict mandatory requirements that bind companies to contribute to the public policy goals governments are setting in relation to climate specifically and ESG more broadly.

What’s Changed? 

These developments have deep implications for companies, investors, and financial markets. Let’s look at five main policy trends that are significantly reshaping business: 

1. No more ESG standards alphabet soup – While new niche frameworks and guidelines will always pop up (let’s keep in mind that ESG evolves constantly), the European Union (EU) mandatory Sustainability Reporting … Read more...

Water Management Is the Wave of the Future

Companies that operate in regulated industries or those that are interested in improving how they manage water and wastewater both benefit from water quality management.
Companies that operate in regulated industries or those that are interested in improving how they manage water and wastewater both benefit from water quality management.

As wildfires, heatwaves and droughts become more common and more deadly around the globe, everyone is starting to take climate change more seriously. Until recently, many companies would “talk the talk” and promote their organization’s green initiatives to fool the consumer, but that is no longer the case. The reality of climate change, along with other factors, are driving companies to “walk the talk” and aggressively improve sustainability efforts as part of their corporate ESG strategy.

There are many ways for companies to improve sustainability. One approach is to reduce energy consumption and invest in renewable energy sources. Companies that operate in regulated industries must manage their water consumption and wastewater discharge; solid and hazardous waste treatment and disposal as well as greenhouse … Read more...

Staying Focused Key Step to ESG Reporting Success: Panel

 key step in the ESG process is creating a core document, often referred to as a corporate sustainability report, that encapsulates a company’s overall mission around ESG and how they intend to meet their goals.
A key step in the ESG process is creating a core document, often referred to as a corporate sustainability report, that encapsulates a company’s overall mission around ESG and how they intend to meet their goals.

It’s tough to surf through business news or visit a company’s website without coming across a mention of ESG – Environmental, Social & Governance. The term refers to a firm’s collective efforts to conduct business in ways that benefit the environment and ensure social equality within its workplaces. Increasingly, stakeholders are basing their opinions and investment choices on how well companies are performing in these areas.

Getting ESG right is, quite simply, now a corporate imperative.

The challenge for firms to not only improve their ESG outcomes but also to communicate their progress to an incredibly attentive public can be monumental, particularly for those just starting out on their ESG measurement and reporting … Read more...

Here’s How ESG Will Further the Cause of EHS

ESG will further the cause of EHSQ
No doubt most EHS professionals would rightly declare the work they’ve been doing has aligned with many ESG principles all along.

Ever-growing interest by financial investors and consumers in companies that do the right things for people and the planet by adhering to the guiding principles of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria is great news for Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) concerns.

What does one have to do with the other?

EHS has long been positioned as a cost avoidance function to protect company profits through protection programming. But with growing interest by businesses and their efforts to align with ESG, the one will most definitely help the other. 

“With ESG, there’s a triple bottom line: profit, people, and the planet that will be demanded not only by the internal stakeholder, but the consumer and those looking to invest as shareholders,” says Intelex Vice-President of Health and Safety, Scott Read more...

Permit to Work Boosts Safety by Design Strategies

Permit to work is a formal process that identifies, communicates and mitigates risk.
Permit to work is a formal process that identifies, communicates and mitigates risk for workers completing non-routine tasks in potentially hazardous work areas.

As companies pursue more proactive and preventive safety strategies such as Safety by Design, they are looking for new processes and methods such as Permit to Work software, to help make it happen.

Keeping workers healthy, happy and safe should be a strong governance focus within every company’s ESG strategy. In 2019, over 27% of the 5,333 worker fatalities in the U.S. were due to workplace hazards such as getting struck or caught in objects or equipment (14%), exposure to harmful substances or environments (12%) or injury from fire and explosion (2%). And for every hazard-related worker fatality, there were 20 to 60 times as many non-fatal incidents that created costly and disruptive downtime and absences from work. So, despite an increased emphasis on improving worker … Read more...

Expert Connect: Planning for Long-Term ESG Management Success

Don’t miss our next Expert Connect session on August 4 about ESG management: “How To Position Your Business For Long-Term ESG Success.”

ESG – Environment, Social, and Governance – is an extremely hot topic among the financial community, business leaders, investors, governments and even the general public. For the capital-focused stakeholders, ESG metrics present a robust, non-financial way to assess risk exposure. For morality-focused stakeholders, ESG metrics help demonstrate how much a company concerns itself with being a force for net-positive change.  

“Whatever the reason, ESG management, reporting and performance needs to be top of mind for businesses around the globe. But where do you start? How do prepare for elevated investor scrutiny, potential new regulation, or elevated social pressure? How do you get a handle on your carbon footprint and report it to customers? How do you ensure a strong ESG posture versus your direct competitors and peers?” asked … Read more...